Moving Past Black and White: 4 Ways to Add Some Flair to Your Resume

We've heard about it constantly for the past three years: there are more job seekers applying to fewer jobs, leaving employers with fat stacks of resumes on their desks and little time to review.

This situation leaves employers with little choice than to immediately reject a vast majority of resumes without reading them thoroughly.

Of course, there are plenty of strategies to make it to the short pile, including networking, applying early, and following directions. But what is going to pull that employer's eyes to your resume above everyone else's?

Sometimes it takes more than having an A+ resume. When your resume is already strong, check out these four ways to add (just a little) flair to your resume:

Color

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Who said your resume has to be black and white? Just like business cards, resumes with a little bit of color stand out to employers in a subtle way. As humans, we respond better to things that are aesthetically appealing. Don't go overboard, but adding some color to a border or letterhead can go a long way.

Structure

When we write our resumes (especially the first time out) we stick with a fairly rigid format—and usually it ends up looking like a list. Sometimes, we branch out with templates, which may or may not work, and end up with something a little bit more interesting. What's stopping you from creating your own structure? Experiment with tables, columns, and organization. Work on your resume's flow and lead with your strongest areas (some might have more experience while others might have more education).

Embellishment

Unless you're an artist, you're probably not going to illustrate your resume. Add an embellishment like a border or separate sections with a symbol. Pick something that keeps your resume from resembling a huge block of text.

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Letterhead

You've seen stationary with a nice letterhead before. Your header needs to include your name, email, and phone number, but how it's formatted it completely up to you. You can then also use your letterhead for other job search documents, such as your cover letter. The letterhead is the first thing a reader will see when looking at your resume, why not start off with a bang?

How else do you add flair to your resume? Do you think resumes even need flair?

Gerrit Hall is the CEO and co-founder of RezScore, a free web application that reads, analyzes, and grades resumes - instantly. Gerrit has successfully combined his passion for computer science and the careers space by helping job seekers write the best resume possible. Gerrit is a regular contributor to the startup advice site Bootstrapper, hosts the "Vital Topics" panel of the Road2Shambala podcast, and spearheaded the 2log competitive blogging platform. You can connect with Gerrit and RezScore on Facebook and Twitter.